At night, the foot of Miaomang Mountain was even livelier than during the day. The young disciples of various sects, eager to show off, used their spiritual energy to create different sources of illumination. Some crafted tiny glowing orbs that floated like fireflies, others formed misty clouds of soft white light, and some simply made lanterns to hang from the trees lining the main road.

Thanks to their efforts, the surroundings were brightly lit. Mortal vendors set up stalls in these illuminated spots, their shouts even more enthusiastic than in the daytime.

“Strange. Why do I only see mortal cultivators? Where are the immortals?” Le Gui looked around. “Or is my eyesight bad, and I just can’t recognize them?”

“The Immortal Realm sees itself as superior and would never lower itself to stroll the same streets as mortal cultivators,” Seer Mirror scoffed. “Their arrogance is nothing new.”

“That’s true. Mortal cultivators endure countless hardships before ascending, whereas some immortals are born into it. It makes sense for them to be a little arrogant,” Le Gui said casually, unbothered because Seer Mirror had placed a barrier around her. “But just because someone is born an immortal doesn’t mean they’re automatically stronger than mortal cultivators. Otherwise, what’s the point of holding a trial tournament?”

“For a little beast, you see things more clearly than most immortals,” Seer Mirror remarked.

Le Gui shot back, “And for a broken mirror, you sure know a lot of things that most people don’t.”

The Seer Mirror: “…..”

Sensing an argument coming, Le Gui swiftly changed the subject. “Look at those people. Their clothes are all different, and they don’t seem to know each other, but after exchanging glances, they started calling each other senior and junior disciples. Why?”

“They recognized each other as members of the same sect,” Seer Mirror replied impatiently, as if the question was too simple.

Le Gui asked, “How do they recognize each other?”

“When a sect accepts new disciples, it infuses them with a trace of the sect’s spiritual energy. Though it’s so faint it’s almost negligible, it allows disciples to identify each other and prevents them from mistaking fellow sect members for enemies and killing each other in unfamiliar places,” Seer Mirror explained.

Le Gui thought back and realized that when she was taken in by the Hehuan Sect, her senior sister had indeed tapped her forehead and infused something into her. She hadn’t felt anything at the time and hadn’t thought much of it—unlike that day in the pool when Di Jiang suddenly infused her with spiritual energy and then…

“Why is your face red?” Seer Mirror asked sharply.

Le Gui’s face wasn’t just red—her legs were nearly shaking. But she forced herself to appear composed. “But I spent every day at Bi’an Terrace with Hehuan Sect disciples, and I never sensed anything.”

“That’s because it’s more of an intuitive feeling. You already knew them, so why would you need a reaction?” Seer Mirror countered.

“So if I meet Hehuan Sect disciples in the future, I’ll be able to recognize them?” Le Gui asked.

“Yes.”

“How does it feel?”

“…How should I explain it? You’ll know when you experience it,” Seer Mirror said, already growing impatient. Before she could ask another question, he quickly added, “Enough talking. Go buy flowers.”

[So impatient.]

Le Gui muttered in her heart but didn’t argue. She was about to start searching for flowers when she spotted a flower vendor pushing a cart nearby. Excited, she ran over.

“Fresh flowers, all freshly picked. Pick any you like. If you buy a lot, I’ll give you a discount,” the vendor said eagerly. Mortal cultivators had seen too many rare and mystical flowers to care for ordinary ones, and the vendor hadn’t sold a single bloom all evening. Seeing Le Gui approach felt like seeing a long-lost relative.

Le Gui’s eyes landed on a rose. “Do you like roses?”

“…Are you talking to me?” The flower vendor looked confused.

Hearing Seer Mirror’s silent confirmation, Le Gui plucked a rose from the bucket and asked again, “What about sunflowers?”

“Like them,” Seer Mirror replied.

“Jasmine?”

“Also like it.”

The vendor couldn’t hear Seer Mirror speaking, but after watching Le Gui ask several times, she simply accepted it—after all, cultivators might have unseen companions.

Under Seer Mirror’s guidance, Le Gui bought a large bouquet. Once they were wrapped up, she quickly walked toward a secluded area. Her pace picked up until, in the end, she was practically running. She finally stopped behind a deserted mountain wall.

“You’re really impatient,” Le Gui said, exasperated after being hurried the entire way.

Seer Mirror replied, “Take me out. I want to see my flowers.”

Le Gui clicked her tongue in distaste, pulling the mirror from her robes and tossing it directly onto the bouquet of flowers.

The tulip inside the mirror took a deep, indulgent breath as if savoring the fragrance, then suddenly froze like a marionette with its strings cut. Sensing something was wrong, Le Gui was about to ask what had happened when she saw thick demonic energy surging from the mirror. The cracks that had not fully healed were unable to contain it, allowing the dark aura to seep out.

At the foot of the mountain, cultivators were everywhere. It did not take long for them to sense the demonic energy. Le Gui heard distant voices filled with alarm and nearly panicked. She tossed away the bouquet, clutched the mirror tightly, and sprinted up the mountain. As she ran, she hissed in a low voice, “What are you doing? Are you trying to announce to the whole world that we’re from the Demon Realm? Seer Mirror, calm down! If you keep leaking demonic energy, we’re both dead!”

Perhaps her frantic yelling had some effect. The demonic aura reluctantly withdrew into the mirror. Le Gui quickly found a hiding spot, holding her breath as the pursuing cultivators lost track of the energy’s source and eventually left. Only then did she glare at the mirror with a headache. “What’s wrong with you?”

The Seer Mirror remained silent for a long time before speaking again, its voice hoarse. “The scent of those flowers… carries traces of his presence.”

“Who?” Le Gui asked immediately.

The mirror murmured to itself, “But it doesn’t seem entirely like him. There’s something similar, but I can’t quite pinpoint what.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Maybe I was mistaken. I’ve been searching for thousands of years. It couldn’t be this easy to find him.”

Le Gui: “…”

[Great. Everyone has their own backstory, huh?]

She wisely decided not to press further and continued lying in the dirt pit covered with fallen leaves.

After a long while, the Seer Mirror spoke again. “Take me to her.”

“Who?”

“The flower seller.”

Le Gui rubbed her nose, feeling as if she owed it a favor. Still, she obediently took the mirror back to the marketplace.

The flower-selling girl was still standing in the same place, just as before, without a single sale. When she saw Le Gui return, she looked nervous. “Are my flowers not to your liking?”

Poor girl. She thought Le Gui had come to return them.

Le Gui quickly reassured her, “No, no. Your flowers are great.”

“Ask her who infused the flowers with spiritual energy,” the mirror instructed.

Clearing her throat, Le Gui asked, “I just wanted to know, who infused your flowers with spiritual energy?”

“It was an elderly gentleman,” the flower girl answered nervously. “He saw that my flowers were wilting and still hadn’t sold, so he kindly helped me restore them to their fresh state.”

Le Gui discreetly poked the mirror, silently asking if they should keep questioning her.

“No need. He’s not some old man,” the mirror responded.

“…Is something wrong?” The flower girl looked at Le Gui in confusion.

Le Gui snapped out of her thoughts. “Ah… No, nothing. I was just curious.”

Under the girl’s puzzled gaze, Le Gui quickly slipped away. Once they were alone, she asked, “You said you’ve been searching for someone for thousands of years. If they were young back then, they might be old now. Shouldn’t you at least try to ask more questions?”

“They don’t age,” the mirror said simply.

Le Gui perked up. “They? You’re looking for more than one person?”

The mirror fell silent again.

When traveling with companions, a heavy mood could easily dampen the whole group’s spirit. Ever since she had arrived in this world, Le Gui had only spent the first three days in the mortal realm. After that, she had been confined to Wuyou Palace in the Demon Realm. Now that she finally had the chance to go out and have fun, she was determined to make the most of it.

“There’s a stall ahead selling stir-fried cold noodles. How about this? I’ll eat, and you can just enjoy the smell,” she suggested cheerfully, running off before the mirror could object.

The Seer Mirror had been in a bad mood and had not wanted to say a word. But after being dragged around by her, it somehow felt lighter.

Once Le Gui had stuffed herself full and the mirror had “eaten” its fill of fragrance, the Seer Mirror finally said, “Can we go up the mountain now?”

Le Gui lifted her skirt, revealing her swollen ankle. “I walked too much today. It’s worse now.”

The mirror scoffed. “You’re exaggerating. If it were really that bad, how did you run so fast when my demonic energy leaked out earlier?”

“I was enduring it,” Le Gui argued.

“So you can endure pain when running for your life and playing around, but not for climbing a mountain?”

“Well, yeah! Running for my life and playing are different,” she said matter-of-factly. In truth, her foot was still throbbing painfully. She was only holding on with sheer determination to enjoy her time outside. “Besides, I heard the morning market has more delicious food and some street performances.”

“…That’s your real reason, isn’t it? Go on then, keep messing around. Let’s see if you end up playing yourself into an early grave.”

“I won’t. I bet he’s having too much fun right now to even remember us,” Le Gui said reassuringly.

Di Jiang, who didn’t know how happy she was, was alone in Dengtian Pavilion at this moment. He had clearly sensed the demonic energy on Seer Mirror, which was the same as his own, but he waited for a long time and no one showed up. His eyes gradually became dangerous.

Unaware of his mood, Le Gui was still at the foot of the mountain, crafting more excuses until she finally convinced the mirror to let them stay the night.

“Tomorrow, we have to leave,” the mirror warned.

Le Gui raised three fingers. “I swear we’ll go!”

With that agreement, they began looking for a place to stay.

Of course, in the middle of the wilderness, accommodations were scarce. However, some enterprising individuals had used enchanted artifacts to create makeshift inns of various sizes. For just three spirit stones, one could rent a room for the night.

It was only then that Le Gui realized the importance of spirit stones—but it was too late. After much pleading, she finally managed to exchange two thousand taels of silver for a single night in a servant’s quarters at the back of an inn.

“A scam! A complete scam! Do you know how much I could buy with two thousand taels?!” Le Gui stared at the rundown servant’s quarters, feeling her heart shatter.

The Seer Mirror watched with detached amusement. “I told you before. Silver is worthless among cultivators.”

“How was I supposed to know that even finding a place to stay required spirit stones? If it weren’t for the possibility of weird creatures roaming around Miaomang Mountain in the middle of the night, I would have just slept on the road,” she grumbled.

She lifted the bedding and checked for dust. Only when she confirmed it was clean did she feel slightly better.

Inside the room, there was no one else. Le Gui took the mirror out of her arms and placed it on the worn-out little table. Just as the mirror was about to say something, she pulled out a small bundle of flowers as if performing a magic trick and tucked them behind its mirror ear.

The tulips in the mirror paused for a moment and asked, “Where did these come from?”

“I picked them casually while wandering around earlier. They may not look as nice as the ones sold in town, but at least they won’t make you lose control,” Le Gui said as she decorated the mirror, making it look beautiful to her satisfaction.

The mirror remained uncharacteristically silent.

“Are you touched?” Le Gui asked.

“…Get lost,” the mirror responded.

Le Gui chuckled, flopped onto the bed, and lay down.

After enduring the wind and cold for three days and two nights, followed by running wild at the foot of the mountain for most of the day, her energy was completely drained. She turned over and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

Normally, this sleep should have lasted until morning. But in the middle of the night, the wind suddenly picked up, howling through the broken window, making a sound like sorrowful wailing. The noise made Le Gui toss and turn until she finally lost her patience. Sitting up, she decided to find something to block the hole in the window.

The night was cool as water, and the moonlight made the window appear ghostly pale. In front of the Seer Mirror, which had somehow returned to its normal size, a young girl with long hair trailing on the floor was sitting. She was carefully placing the flowers that Le Gui had given the mirror onto her own head.

Her movements were slow and clumsy. Several times, the flowers slipped off, falling onto her blood stained dress. Yet she showed no frustration, repeating the motion over and over. When she finally managed to place the flowers properly, she lifted her lips in a slow smile, revealing a mouth filled with blood and gums devoid of teeth.

Le Gui had already extended one foot toward the ground but silently retracted it, lay back down, pulled the blanket tightly over herself, and closed her eyes. A single tear slipped from the corner of her trembling eye.